A sister shared the below
story on Facebook, and since reading it, I've been thinking non-stop about this
particular sahaba. SubhanAllah, I urge everyone to read this. Its slightly
long, but very much worth it. Absolutely a lot to learn from this. InshaAllah, I leave it to you to enjoy and
take inspiration,
Owais (RA) was the only man
who was mentioned by name by the Prophet(SAWS) without him having met him. He
became a companion without seeing the prophet (SAWS), Owais (R A) was given the
honor of being his Companion in Paradise! SubahanAllaah. One day, Umar
ibn Khattab, Abu Bakr, Ali and other companions (RA) were sitting with the
Prophet (SAWS) at the Masjid when the Prophet (SAW) said to them, “Tomorrow, a
man will enter from this door to pray among you and he will be from the people
of Paradise.”
“He is a man of medium height, head held high
despite being poor with very dark skin. I can see him putting his right arm on
his left arm and weeping as he reads Quran. He is wearing a cloak of poor
wool,” said the Prophet (SAW), smiling as if he can see him as Angel Jibreal
(AS) is describing him. “On his left shoulder, there is a white mark the size
of a dirham that is the effect of an illness. He is unknown among the
people but known in the skies. His biggest sign is the mother he deeply cares for.
When he makes duaa, it is granted. He will come among the people on the Day of
Judgment and as they are entering Paradise, he will be stopped. When he asks
why, Allaah will tell him he can bring whomever he wants into Paradise
with him, as much as 200,000 people (the amount of two large
tribes).” “Ali and Umar, if you are ever to find this man, ask him to make
duaa for you and ask Allaah for your forgiveness,” said the Prophet.
Elsewhere in Yemen, a young boy is herding his
sheep, the sun beating down on his shoulders where a white mark stands alone on
his dark skin. He is frustrated from being poor and having to struggle and take
care of his mother. His father died when he was a young child, leaving him the
man of the house. When the boy was seventeen, his mother lost her vision, and
his responsibilities toward her increased as he now had to help her move
around.
he stood at Mount Arafat and asked all the people making Hajj to stand up. Then
he told everyone to sit down except those from Yemen. From that group, he told
them all to sit down except those from Murad and from that group, he told them
all to sit down except those from Qarn. One man was left standing. “Are you a
Qarni?” asked Umar ibn Al Khattab(R A). The man replied in the
affirmative. “Do you know Owais?” “Yes, he is my nephew. But what would
you want with him. He is but a poor, forgotten man,” replied the Yemeni
man. Umar (RA) started to weep. “This man is not just a poor, forgotten man. He
is a man who will choose 200,000 people to come with him into heaven. Is he
with you?” “No, he is not,” replied the man. “Is his mother living,” asked
Umar (RA). “Yes,” replied the man. “I know he will not ever leave
her, as this is what the Prophet (SAWS) said,” replied Umar.
Abu Huraira (RA) relates that the next day he hurried to Fajr prayer at the
Masjid and lined up in the first row in hopes that he would be the man that the
Prophet (SAW) was referring to the day before. There were many other
Companions standing alongside him who also had the same idea. The Prophet
(SAWS) conducted Fajr prayer and sat down. The Companions were eager to know
who this man of Paradise was, but it didn’t seem the Prophet was going to
mention it. So they sat and waited for a while and some of them had to go, but
others still waited. These included Abu Huraira, Abu Bakr, Ali, and Umar
(RA). Just then walked in a man, who was so poor his clothes were dirty
and torn. The Prophet (SAW) immediately stood up and smiled from ear to ear and
welcomed the man. The man asked the Prophet to pray for him. The Prophet (SAW)
raised his hands in duaa and said, “Oh Allaah please grant this man a position
in the highest levels of Paradise, Al Firdous, with me.” So then when the man
left, Abu Huraira (RA) asked the Prophet (SAW) ,”Was that him?!” “Yes,” replied
the Prophet. “But oh Messenger of Allaah , he is nothing more than a poor
slave, how can that be him?” asked Abu Huraira (RA) . “Oh Abu Huraira,” said
the Prophet. “What can I do for him if his fate in this world is to be poor?
His position on the Day of Judgment is that of a king. Abu Huraira (RA) , the
ones that have the most value to Allaah are those that are pure, starving,
whose faces are dusty, who are not known on this Earth, but known in the
skies. If they want to get married, no one would marry them. And if they
get sick, the do not pass on the sickness to anyone (they are alone), and if
they attend something their presence is not felt, and if they leave, no one
notices, and when they die, no one attends their funeral. These people however,
are not forgotten by Allaah and they are held with so much value.” “Oh
Messenger of Allaah, show me one of them,” said Abu Huraira (RA). “I will
tell you about Owais Al Qarni (RA),” replied the Prophet. The Companions looked
at each other, each trying to recall if they know a man named Owais.
They didn't know that he was talking about a man that they will meet
years after the Prophet has passed away.
One night, he was carrying a candle and helping his mother move around
the house when the candlelight went out and they were left in darkness. He
could not see a thing. Then his mother, who was used to finding her way in the
darkness, started leading him. This turn of events affected him deeply and he
started to ponder on the weight of light and darkness.
The next day, the seventeen-year-old Owais (RA) bumped into a Muslim man
who was coming to Yemen to spread Islam. He stopped the man and asked him to
tell him something from the Qur'an that his Prophet (SAW) has said. So the man
recites a verse from Surah An Nur:
{…And he for whom Allaah has not appointed light,
for him there is no light}
(Qur'an 24:40)
This really hit home for Owais (RA) as he remembered
what had happened the night before with his mother. “Tell me more about what
your Prophet (SAW) says,” said Owais. So the man, noticing that Owais (RA)
was poor, chose this Hadith. “What am I to this world and what is this world to
me? The example of me and this world is that of a man who walks in the heat of
the desert and sits under the shade of a tree for an hour, then walks away and
leaves it.”
Owais (RA) upon hearing this Hadith, immediately said his shahadah and
became a Muslim at the age of 17. Then came the question, will he migrate to
see the Prophet? As much as Owais (RA) wanted to, he couldn’t and wouldn’t
leave his mother. Some people suggested that he let some neighbours take care
of her while he was gone but he said that he was the one who should take care
of her and turned down the opportunity to see the Prophet. This sacrifice for
his mother and the way Owais (RA) had devoted himself to his mother his whole
life was the reason that he was mentioned by the Prophet (SAW). Also, because
of his deep faith and his lack of attachment to the material things in this
world.
So when Ali bin Abu Talib (RA) left Yemen with a group of new Muslims to
go back to Madinah, it was without the boy he bumped into on his way there. He
had no idea that it the Owais (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) had mentioned and the
boy didn’t know it was Ali bin Abu Talib (RA).
3 years later, the Prophet passed away and years after that Abu Bakr
(RA) also passed away. When Umar ibn AlKhattab (RA) became Khalifah, he would
go around all the people during Hajj and call out, “OWAIS, OWAIS, Is there
anyone here named Owais?” He would go to the group that came from Yemen and ask
them if a man named Owais (RA) is among them. But no one had heard of this man.
Umar (RA) realised it was just as the Prophet (SAW) described to him, that he
was a man who was unknown among the people.
Year after year, Umar (RA) would go around at Hajj and
call out and ask for Owais. One year during Hajj, Umar (R A) searched for
Owais (R A) for ten years. A year before the death of Umar(R A) , Owais’s
mother passed away. That year, Umar (RA) stood up at Mount Arafat again and said to
the people of Yemen, “Is Owais al Qarni among you?” A Yemeni man said, “He is that
sheppard standing over there.” Umar (R A) became so excited and went to look
for Ali (RA) . “Ali! Ali! We found him!” he called out. Umar and Ali (RA) approached Owais (R A) and asked
him,“Are you Owais (R A) al Qarni?” “Yes,”
replied a surprised Owais. “Show me your shoulder,” replied Umar. Owais (R A)
showed them his shoulder and they were able to see the mark that the Prophet
(SAW) mentioned. “Is your mother with you?” asked Umar. Owais (R A) replied
that his mother had passed away. “Ah, it is just as the Prophet said it would
be then,” said Umar(R A). Owais (R
A) actually did not know these men so he asked them who they were. “I am Umar
ibn AlKhattab (RA), the Khalifah, and this is Ali ibn Abu Talib (RA), the man
who came to Yemen to spread Islam,” said Umar(R A). “Yes! I remember him! But, how do you know me?” asked
Owais. So Umar (R A) told Owais (R A) the whole story about how the Prophet
(SAW) had talked about him years ago and how Angel Jibreal (AS) had described
him. They said how his signs were the mark on his shoulder, his care for his
mother, and his lack of attachment to this world. He said how Prophet (SAW)
told them that he would take 200,000 people with him into Paradise. They told
him how they had been looking for him for years.
Umar and Ali (R Anhum) then asked Owais (RA) to make duaa for them and
ask forgiveness for him. “You are now my friend in this life and the next,”
Umar (RA) said to Owais. However, Owais (RA) was not interested in the life of
fame and ease that would come with being Umar’s friend, especially when people
find out what the Prophet (SAW) had said about him. He kindly refused, and
asked to be left as he is. Owais (RA) said he was going to go to Kufa. “Would
you like me to write to the leader of Kufa to await your arrival and look after
you?” asked Umar. “No thank you. I would like to go unknown as I came,”
replied Owais. “Ok then at least let me give you some money to help you
out,” said Umar (R A) in an effort to do at least something for Owais. “No
thank you, my wool coat has still not worn out and neither have my shoes. I
have four dirhams that I have still not used. When I run out, I will figure out
how to get more. I am content this way,” replied Owais. “Please stay with
me,” said Umar. “Thank you Umar. But what I have is good for me and what you
have is good for you and the Muslims,” said Owais.
Owais (RA) left Mecca. He
participated in the battle at Azerbaijan and died during the battle. His death
came about 2 years after the death of Umar ibn AlKhattab (RA). Owais (RA) was
about 35 years old.
